Research has shown that people who are happy are physically, emotionally and mentally healthier. And…
Why Vitamin D is Essential for Optimal Health
As many of my nutrition clients are already aware, vitamin D is one of the only vitamin supplements that I often recommend people include!
Why is Vitamin D Important?
The main roles that this vitamin plays in the body are to maintain bone mass, help the body to properly absorb calcium, and also to protect against injury. It also helps to alleviate musculoskeletal pain.
Your immune system is another aspect of your body that will benefit from optimum vitamin D levels. This is especially true if you’re an athlete or if you’re someone who engages in regular exercise. Strenuous workouts can have quite an impact on the body and keeping healthy is key to efficient recovery. Vitamin D helps to defend the body in this way and combats viruses.
Your brain will also benefit from vitamin D, with studies showing that cognitive function is improved as the damage caused by free radicals is reduced. Not only does this mean that your general brain activity in the present is optimised, but also that your risk of degenerative diseases becomes less. Alzheimer’s is one disease that is thought to have strong links to decreased levels of this vitamin.
Vitamin D & Hormones
Testosterone levels (in men and women) are directly influenced by the amount of vitamin D present in the body. In fact, those who are taking testosterone for hormone replacement therapy are generally advised to take a weekly dose of vitamin D in order to keep their levels of testosterone up.
Testosterone plays a huge role in building and maintaining muscles, so making sure vitamin D levels are adequate will aid this process.
What About Deficiency?
Getting an adequate amount of this vitamin is incredibly important and, unfortunately, many of us fail to do so.
Experts have predicted that at least one billion people around the globe are deficient. A quick blood test will determine your vitamin D levels and an optimum range is between 50-80 ng/ml.
On the other hand, it’s also important not to overdose, as excess amounts will remain in your system. This could lead to high blood calcium levels, nausea and sometimes even kidney stones.
Living a Healthy Life
As we can see, this is an extremely useful and essential aspect of our basic nutrition.
The best ways to make sure you are getting enough vitamin D are to enjoy sufficient time outdoors in the sunlight, consume foods that are high in this vitamin, and then also of course you can take supplements if you find the first two option aren’t hitting the quota!
Click if you’re ready to learn more about the best foods to eat for a healthy life?
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Vitamin D is important for women, men and bambini.brava and compliments on her post
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Reblogged this on sguz21 and commented:
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Vitamin D3 is the only supplement I take in Winter when our skies are mostly grey and there is little sunlight, I think it helps but I can’t be sure…
Great information on Vitamin D! I’ve started taking Vitamin D capsules every day and have noticed a huge improvement in my life overall, especially with cognitive function and the ability to concentrate! Very important blog (:
good to be Irish blooded with nice pale skin and get some good D outside BUT I still had D3 supplement for bed time
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Reblogged this on Karats to Coconuts and commented:
I feel this is important as well, especially on cloudy days or days when you might be housebound. I take a supplement myself but I also try to eat a super healthy diet so I don’t feel like I need it every day.
[…] As discussed in a previous blog post, Vitamin D is an incredibly important vitamin. And, since there is not something that can be found in abundance in many foods, it is essential that you get an ample amount from sunshine! […]